Brisbane Casino ..and Steam, also known as the Strainers

The Treasury Casino, also known as The Treasury is a casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It also houses a hotel, five restaurants, seven bars, and a nightclub. The casino is operated by ECHO Entertainment Group

An early 19th century building with Edwardian-Baroque exterior designs and ornate colonnades, striking sandstone walls and six-story atrium, the historic Treasury Building houses a three-level gaming emporium of 80 gaming tables and over 1,300 gaming machines, and was opened refurbished as the Treasury Casino in April 1995. The hotel section of the Conrad Treasury Casino is housed in the former Lands Administration Building.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_Casino

Steam, also known as The Strainers consists of 15 Godestic Spheres..one is now missing…in George Street, opposite the Casino was built in 2006 by Donna Mures The spheres were created from 7000 steamer pieces welded together as well as 780 plates bolted together. Inspired by the concept of random disbursement, Marcus has placed the works in a variety of locations throughout the space in an almost haphazard manner. Her experiment in deciding where the pieces would lie, began with her creating a scaled down model version of the work and throwing them across the piazza floor like marbles. The point at which they landed resulted in the artworks final destination

Donna Marcus is an Australian artist best known for her use of vast collections of discarded aluminium kitchenware. Constructed from discarded kitchen utensils – plastic and aluminium teapots, lids, jelly moulds, steamers, colanders, egg poachers and bottle-tops – her sculptures draw viewers into a world of kitchens both remembered and imagined.

http://donnamarcus.com.au/news/

Donna Marcus is well known for using kitchenware and aluminum products to create her impressive sculptures. Marcus was one of three artists who answered a call for entries to exhibit work in the main piazza of Brisbane Square. Her project Steam, consisted of 15 geodesic spheres ranging in size from 1.3m to 2.6m in diameter..

Article about Steam

http://www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/921/steam–donna-marcus

Video

http://www.donnamarcus.com.au/galleries/8_on_the_screen/steam.html

architect John James Clark, who designed the Yungaba Immigration Depot, was the chosen design of one of the then largest public buildings in Australia. The design can be described as Classical Revival style, with facades having a mix of Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns. Italian Renaissance style colonnades protected the interior from direct sunlight and rain. Three stages of construction went into the completed treasury building, starting with the William Street frontage. Planning for the first stage of the Treasury Building, which fronted William Street and the Brisbane River and was completed by the middle of 1885, and the site prepared. Tenders were called in April 1886, and Sydney builders Phippard Bros & Co. were successful with a price of £94,697/10/- and completed this section in 1889. This was the new centre of government administration in Queensland was occupied by the Premier, Colonial Secretary, Registrar-General, Treasury, Mines, Works, Police and Auditor-General — architect John James Clark, who designed the Yungaba Immigration Depot, was the chosen design of one of the then largest public buildings in Australia. The design can be described as Classical Revival style, with facades having a mix of Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns. Italian Renaissance style colonnades protected the interior from direct sunlight and rain.
Three stages of construction went into the completed treasury building, starting with the William Street frontage. Planning for the first stage of the Treasury Building, which fronted William Street and the Brisbane River and was completed by the middle of 1885, and the site prepared. Tenders were called in April 1886, and Sydney builders Phippard Bros & Co. were successful with a price of £94,697/10/- and completed this section in 1889.
This was the new centre of government administration in Queensland was occupied by the Premier, Colonial Secretary, Registrar-General, Treasury, Mines, Works, Police and Auditor-General

http://www.brisbanehistory.com/treasury_building.html

In the 1890s and early 1900s the imposing Treasury Building served as a symbol of self-government and as a focus for celebratory and patriotic displays.

Prior to the Treasury Building’s construction the site housed a two-storey military barracks.^[1] In 1901, the proclamation of the federation of the Australian Commonwealth was read by the Governor of Queensland Baron Lamington from a balcony on the William Street elevation.^[1]^[2]

The Queensland Government Cabinet met in the building until the 1905, when the Premier’s Department moved into the Executive Building (subsequently known as the Lands Administration Building) in George Street. Subsequently, more departments moved out and the Treasury Building, along with the Lands Administration Building were sold and now form the Treasury Casino.

The building is faced with sandstone ashlar except for the inner walls of the arcade. These brick walls are finished with lined and unpainted render imitating ashlar. Each phase of construction has used a different type of sandstone. A colour difference is discernible between the Highfields stone used for the first phase of construction, and the Helidon sandstones used for the later stages.^[2] The external walls sit on a porphyry plinth.

The design was proposed by Australian Architect John James Clark. In that time the treasury building would be home to many government authorities such as the Registrar-General, Premier, Treasury, Security, Mines, and the Police. However, from 1989 the Registrar-General was the sole occupant of the building, as other members of the government had moved to newer, more modern quarters. The building is an important symbol of the development and progress of Brisbane’s political history. The architectural style can be compared to that of the 16th century Italian architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_Building,_Brisbane

http://animoto.com/play/gIiOkbYFk9OTQ0MTBz9Igg Video of Brisbane Walking tour